A spokesman for the New Mexico State Police said the photos of a uniformed officer having sex on the hood of a car in public are an embarrassment to the department.

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State police will not release any details of the investigation. They said they do know about the relationship between the officer and the woman, but they won't release that information to the public.

A motion-sensor surveillance camera snapped two pictures while a New Mexico State Police officer in full uniform had sex with a brunette woman on the hood of a dark-colored four-door sedan in broad daylight, police said.

"I'm just glad it wasn't one of my deputies," Santa Fe County Sheriff Robert Garcia said.

Garcia said the photos were captured a few weeks ago on Santa Fe County property and discovered when a county employee reviewed the film. The sheriff said the photos don't document a crime because it's not in public view and no one witnessed it other than the dog spotted in the image.

The sex act took place outside the locked gate of La Bajada Ranch, Action 7 News learned. It's on a remote road that's about a 1/4 mile west of Interstate 25. The ranch is owned by the county, and the cameras were put up to catch vandals.

"I understand the public's uproar in regards to something like this," Garcia said. "We can't allow something like this to tarnish the entire law enforcement community."

"There are (more than) 400 employees working very hard to keep the citizens of this state protected and safe, and they are making good decisions every day," state police Sgt. Tim Johnson said.

Johnson told Action 7 News the incident is an embarrassment to the department, but the force has faced adversity in the past and will gain the public's trust back.

"The internal investigation has been completed, and it's pending disciplinary action," Johnson said Wednesday.

Johnson said that as soon as the police chief saw the photos, he immediately launched an internal investigation, and the officer was placed on paid administrative leave. He now has 30 days to appeal. State police will not release the name of the officer.

"They have due process, and it would be violating their rights if we were to get into all the details of the who, what, where, when and how at this point," Johnson said.

NMSP said that last year, he was recognized as "Officer of the Year," and his fellow officers call him "a workhorse." But now, he may possibly lose his job.

But while the police chief agreed the incident is an embarrassment, he said the internal investigation showed that what happened at the La Bajada Ranch was not criminal.

Action 7 News spoke with defense attorneys in cases involving the officer in question who said they aren't sure what will happen to their cases because if the lead officer is on administrative leave and doesn't show up to court, the case is dismissed.